Sunday, August 2

The new FineMolds 72nd scale F-14D Tomcat kit is being delivered to model makers in a peculiar way. This new exciting kit comes in four different parts via a package with the Japanese model magazine “Model Graphix.” Today we have for you the companion to this kit – the weapons set as well as four different pilots to suit it from Modelkasten. Both are featured in the July 2015 issue of Scale Aviation (SA) magazine. Gary looks into these missiles and pilots in today’s review…

Today we continue our multi-part review of the brand new tooled F-14D Tomcat in 1/72 from FineMolds with the release of part 3 which is co-packaged with the July 2015 issue of Scale Aviation (SA) magazine.

If you missed our review of Part 1 and Part 2 of this kit I suggest you take the time to read them and them come back and join us for Part 3.

As a reminder, the new FineMolds F-14D kit has been split and bundled with three issues of the Japanese Model Graphix magazine. At the time of writing the first two parts are out (July & August) with the third and final installment due in September.

Today however we review the weapons sprue designed for this F-14 kit which has been bundled, not with Model Graphix this time, but instead with the 07 July issue of SA Scale Aviation magazine.

We also have a look at some brand new resin F-14 aircrew (Pilot + RIO) figures in 1/72 from Modelkasten that will work very well with your new Tomcat. There are two sets of figures, one standing and the other seated. To be clear, neither of these sets are bundled with a magazine, rather they are available for purchase via Hobby Link Japan.

Just like previous installments, this latest package is shipped with the magazine in a thin sturdy cardboard box that contains a single weapons sprue & decal sheet.

As we have come to expect the contents are carefully packaged in their own bags for protection in transit.

The assembly instructions are provided on the pages in the magazine itself (in English too). This third instalment contains a single small weapons sprue and a small decal sheet with stencils and markings for the various missiles.

Sprue K is moulded in white plastic and provides us with a useful array of the air-to-air missiles and targeting pods used on the F-14.

• 4 x AIM-54 Phoenix

• 2 x AIM-9 Sidewinder

• 2 x AIM-7 Sparrow

• 1 x AN/AAQ-25 LANTIRN Targeting System (LTS) pod

• 1 x LANTIRN Adapter for station 8B

It’s curious that whilst we get the LTS pod which was exclusively responsible for transforming the Tomcats combat role in the jets final decade of frontline service from one of pure air superiority to a precision bombing platform, we don’t get any air-to-ground weapons that would have been loaded with the LTS. Perhaps FineMolds have a second weapons sprue up its sleeve that we have yet to learn about??

Scale Aviation magazine shows how to load out our F-14 using the various Hasegawa weapons sets in 1/72. It may be that to build a Bombcat we need to look beyond FineMolds for our ordinance needs.

As you would expect, the assembly for these 1/72 weapons is very simple. The AIM-7 and AIM-9 come as single pieces and only need some clean-up and painting. The larger AIM-54 Phoenix comes in two halves per missile with an exhaust ring at the rear. The AAQ-25 LTS with its sensor ball and LANTIRN adapter round out the parts.

The painting and decaling guide is clear and concise. If you are wondering if the AIM-7 Sparrow diagrams are missing a fin the answer is yes they are, but so are the plastic parts (because when you fit a Sparrow to the aircraft the large sparrow fins fit into slots).

The decal sheet is very comprehensive. FineMolds have clearly done their homework. As you would expect many of the stencils are tiny in 1/72.

One way that manufacturers can make it easier for modellers to deal with so many small stencils is to join them all together using clear carrier film. This is a double-edged sword in my opinion as carrier film has a tendency to silver and often make getting decals to conform to the parts more difficult. The FineMolds decals certainly make use of carrier film to simplify the application but to my eye the decals are quite thick (as shown in the photo below) and so this could affect the final result.

The following is a fairly comprehensive list of the weapons and stores that are cleared for the F-14. There certainly is no lack of variety when it comes to loading up your F-14 model.

Its also worth understanding a little about the available stations and pylons on the F-14. Many weapons and stores (like fuel tanks etc) are compatible with specific stations.

The following set of photos shows some close up shots of the weapon parts on Sprue K. About the only thing I noticed is that some of the fins appear to be a little thick and could be replaced with plastic card if this worries you.

The AIM-54 Phoenix is a long-range air-to-air missile and is the ultimate weapon for destroying target about 100 miles away! A maximum of 6 Phoenix missiles can be loaded on the F-14, one on each wing-pylon plus four more under the fuselage.

The AIM-7 Sparrow is a medium-range air-to-air missile. The F-14 can carry a maximum of 6 Sparrows at a time: Four on fuselage stations plus another two on the wing-pylons. The missing forward fin on the kits AIM-7 Sparrows is intentional and is designed to make attaching the missiles to the LAU-92 adapter mounted on wing pylon station 1B & 8B easier for the modeller. If you plan to mount the Sparrows on fuselage stations 4 & 5 (along the centerline) you will need to remove the rear fin from each missile as well.

This photo of a VF-1 Wolfpack F-14 shows the Sparrow & its LAU-92 adapter mounted on station 8B with an empty LAU-7 launch rail on station 8A.

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile and will be fired whenever the aerial target is out of reach of the cannon. The Tomcat can be loaded with a maximum of 4 Sidewinders at a time, two on each wing-pylon. The Sidewinder provided by FineMolds represents an AIM-9L/M variant.

The basic LANTIRN was modified into LANTIRN Targeting System (LTS), the navigation pod was removed from the two-pod system and the targeting pod was improved for Tomcat use. The first combat use of the LTS was in December 1998 during Operation Desert Fox by VF-32.

The AN/AAQ-25 LTS pod is always fitted to station 8B on the right side of the F-14. A purpose built pylon adapter is used to mount the LTS on the F-14.

Switching gears now, let’s take a look at the new 1/72 F-14 crew figures from Modelkasten. Two sets are available, one with standing and one with seated figures. Each set has two crew members (a Pilot and RIO) and the figures are made from a creamy coloured resin.

Set PF-02 contains the standing figures. Both come with fairly standard poses, the male figure comes as a single piece while the female figure has the arm holding the helmet moulded as a separate part (to be glued on).

Inside the Scale Aviation magazine you will find some painting guides, which despite being in Japanese text the images are fairly self-explanatory with colour callouts in GSI numbers.

As usual, after some minor seam cleanup, I assembled the resin figures with super glue and then applied a coat of Alclad Grey Primer to allow the camera to better pick up the fine detail. These figures are really quite nice when you consider how tiny in real life they are at 1/72 scale.

Provided in the pages of the Scale Aviation magazine are some interesting photos of current female USAF & USN pilots. It’s a pity these are in black and white as they could have provided some good painting references.

The second set of F-14 crew figures (PF-03) from Modelkasten are posed in the seated position. Each seated figure is supplied in four parts, allowing considerable flexibility in positioning during assembly.

Provided are both arms (you can pose as you like) the head with a neck for swivelling and the torso/legs. As per their standing counterparts in set PF-02, the detail on the figures is nice enough. You will have to supply your own oxygen hose to connect to the mask as none is provided in resin.

The Scale Aviation magazine has some building and painting guides for these figures as well. Here we see the completed figures (with oxygen hose) and missing feet, mounted on the kit seats. It’s actually not that unusual to have to remove the lower part of seated figures legs to make them fit in the cockpit.

Buried within the pages of the Scale Aviation magazine I stumbled across this advertisement for what I believe to be harness and strap details for a range of modern US ejection seats in 1/72. These are from the Nano Aviation range made by FineMolds. I’ve not seen these in the flesh but they would address the issue I pointed out in part 1 of the F-14 review with the complete lack of moulded belts on the kit seats.

So there you have part 3 of our review of the new FineMolds F-14 and associated companion parts.

The remainder of the SA Scale Aviation magazine has some interesting stuff on offer including a very nicely weathered build of the FineMolds F-14 and a rather interesting centrefold.

Thanks once more go to HLJ for providing us with the kit/magazine combo and stay tuned for my part 4 review where we’ll get up close and personal with the final instalment of the F-14 sprues and cover off the wings, tails and pylons.